National Child Passenger Safety Week is September 14-20th

Did you know that car crashes are the leading cause of death in children ages one to 14 years old? Sadly, many of these deaths could be prevented by simply installing or utilizing car seats, booster seats and seat belts properly.
September 14^th through the 20^th is a week dedicated to reminding and teaching the public about the proper use of car seats and boosters. Roughly three out of four car seats are installed incorrectly which is a huge safety risk. Here’s the great part: if and when a car seat, booster and seatbelt are used properly, it can reduce the risk of significant injury in infants by 71% and toddlers by 54%!

Please take the time to make sure your children’s car seats are properly installed. In most towns and cities, you can find a trained technician that can ensure your seats are properly installed at no charge to you. Additional information and an inspection station locator are available from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration at http://www.safercar.gov/cpsApp/cps/index.htm. Promotional materials (in English and Spanish) are also available at http://www.trafficsafetymarketing.gov/cps.

It’s September: Time to Get Prepared!

It’s that time of year again when we prepare, discuss and plan for a possible natural disaster that could occur in your area. September marks National Preparedness Month and, as you all know, you can never be too prepared for an emergency.

Now is the time to get together with your communities, your workplace and your family to put an emergency plan in place. Encourage your loved ones to practice their emergency plans so that if a disaster does strike, they will be more prepared to handle it.

This year’s theme is Resolve to be Ready and by following these basic steps in planning, you and your family can be prepared:

Know Who to Call
 Know Where to Meet
 Know What to Pack

Ready.gov provides a family emergency plan at this link: http://www.fema.gov/media-library/assets/documents/34330. This is a great tool for preparing for any disaster. They have several other tools that show you how to build a kit as well as information on how to get involved in the community preparedness process.

Don’t let your family face an emergency without being prepared. It could save your life!